


The Perfect Gift

by Orithain, Rina9294



Category: Smallville
Genre: Christmas, Friendship, Future Fic, Gen, Holidays, Preslash if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-11
Updated: 2013-12-11
Packaged: 2018-01-04 09:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1079406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orithain/pseuds/Orithain, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina9294/pseuds/Rina9294
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clark gives Lex the present they both need.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Perfect Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted December 2003 to the Slash Advent Calendar.

"Your parents are really okay with you staying in Metropolis for a couple more days and driving back with me?" Lex stared at the college freshman with the same disbelief he’d have displayed at being presented with proof of the Second Coming. "Did meteorites get into their water supply?" he demanded suspiciously. While Jonathan Kent’s animosity had simmered down to a somewhat distant politeness over the last four years, he still preferred to keep Clark as far away from Lex as possible, so this was utterly unheralded.

"Yeah, they’re okay with it." Clark didn’t mention the heated discussions his decision had caused and the fact that even though his father had finally relented, he wasn’t happy with the plan. "I didn’t have any time to do any shopping before the end of the term, and this way I can get everyone’s gifts here."

He smiled and looked around Lex’s penthouse. "Sure you don’t mind me crashing here with you? I mean, I might get in the way of your wild parties."

"Right. Wild parties. Let me just get rid of all the swinging guests," Lex retorted sarcastically. "When do I have time to do anything but work? Trying to push Lexcorp ahead of Luthor Corp is a full time job and a half." Yet despite his busy schedule, he somehow always found time for Clark whenever the younger man showed up at his office or home.

"You’re not really going to drag me to a mall, are you?" he asked, suddenly appalled by the possibilities.

Clark chuckled and shook his head. "No, I already know what I’m getting you, and I can manage the rest on my own." He paused and scuffed his foot against the carpeting. "Which reminds me, are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

"Well, I didn’t think I was, but apparently that’s about to change," Lex chuckled. "So what common man’s delight are you planning to introduce me to this time?" he teased, sipping his cognac.

"If I tell you, it won’t be much of a surprise, will it?" Clark asked, giving a bit of a nervous smile.

"Suddenly I’m afraid," Lex replied, but the sparkle in his eyes gave him away. "Should I increase my insurance coverage?"

"No parties, I promise," Clark chuckled. "I just... want to give you your Christmas gift before I go back to Smallville, okay?"

"Ah, I see. So do I get to give you yours here where your father can’t glare at me?" Lex said, smiling now. "We can order dinner, even pizza if you want, and just relax. We haven’t seen much of each other lately, so you can catch me up on your life."

"And you can do the same," Clark shot back. The fact that their friendship had survived this long amazed everyone who knew them, but it seemed the ultra-rich playboy and the farm-fresh college freshman were truly friends. "I haven’t heard your latest scheme for deposing Lionel yet."

"I’d toss him in a shark tank, but that would be too cruel... to the sharks!" Lex growled at the reminder of his father. "I’ve been leading a boring, model life lately, work, work, work. It’s making Lex a dull boy."

Clark dropped down to the couch and stretched out across it. "Never happen, Lex, you’re anything but dull, as all the stories flying around the gossip columns can attest to."

"Clark, if I did even a quarter of what the papers attribute to me, my dick would fall off," Lex snorted. "Not to mention that I’d never have time to sleep or eat."

"Well, it would be a fun way to go," Clark laughed. "But I knew that - about you I mean."

"So you admit that I _am_ dull?" Lex replied, enjoying the verbal fencing. "For all the use it gets, my dick might as well _have_ fallen off. Then again, considering my last two wives, it’s probably best to keep it in my pants."

Clark snorted and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Lex Luthor, dull? Never in a million years would I believe that one, though considering your wives have that strange tendency of trying to kill you..." He smiled apologetically for bringing up the subject. "Sorry."

"Why? It’s the sorry truth," Lex sighed. "I really need to stick to men. They just batter me, not usually try to kill me. I’ve lost count of the number of times you’ve rescued me, you know."

"It’s a habit," Clark offered along with a sickly smile. "There could be worse ones, I suppose."

"Yes, trying to kill me is a much worse one in my admittedly biased opinion." Lex got up to refill his glass. "Would you like anything?" He was thinking about Clark’s obvious nervousness and wondering what he had planned. "You realize I’m going to be up all night trying to figure out what you’re planning, right?"

"Yeah, I sort of thought that would be the case as patience isn’t one of your virtues. Let’s just say I might need a beer or two in me before giving it to you."

Lex’s eyebrows rose. "Now I’m _really_ curious. You have to give me a hint," he wheedled.

"You’re the type who opened all your gifts Christmas Eve, aren’t you?" Clark asked, already knowing the answer to that.

"Of course. The few that I hadn’t already found in their hiding places weeks before," Lex replied, shrugging. "I like instant gratification."

"Shocking," Clark said dryly. "As for my present, it’s going to have to wait until tomorrow, so deal."

"You are a rotten tease," Lex observed. "Well, if you’re not going to give me my present, can I give you one?"

"You don’t have to do that," Clark protested.

Lex rolled his eyes. "How long have I been trying to give you something bigger than a breadbox that your father would let you keep? I know I don’t _have_ to; I _want_ to."

"I dunno, about five years?" Clark’s smile faded, and he looked away from Lex and out the window. "Maybe I should give you yours first though, just in case."

"Are you planning to annoy me so much that I won’t want to give it to you?" Lex scoffed, laughing. He couldn’t imagine anything that would make him feel that way. "I don’t really think that’s an issue, Clark."

"Not annoy, no..." Clark murmured before pushing to his feet. "Be back in a minute." His complexion visibly paler under his tan, he walked to the guest bedroom and returned carrying a long, slim package, which he handed to Lex. "This is the first part of it."

"Ah ha, I get my gift tonight!" Lex accepted the package eagerly and looked startled when he felt the weight of it. "Something to ward off my enemies when you’re not around?" he laughed, already unwrapping it.

Lex stared down at the metal rod he’d uncovered, then raised confused eyes to Clark’s face. "All right, you got me. What is it?"

"It’s real, right? You can’t bend it or anything," Clark asked, urging Lex to try.

Eyeing him strangely, Lex pulled on the steel bar. "No, I can’t. No one could. So are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

Clark took a deep breath and held out his hand for the bar. "It’s about the fact that I wanted to tell you that I... I can." With quite visible ease, he twisted the bar into a pretzel knot and looked over at Lex, who was staring at him. "I’m not quite human, Lex. I - I wanted you to know the truth."

Lex tore his eyes away from the rigid metal that Clark had twisted as easily as Lex would a pipe cleaner, and he blinked a couple of times. "Well. That’s certainly interesting. I mean I sort of knew, not being a complete moron—you’re a rotten liar, Clark—but... ‘not quite human’?"

"Not quite human as in not from Earth." To emphasize this, Clark unknotted the metal bar and aimed a blast of heat at the end to melt it.

Lex gaped at the bar as the tip briefly glowed white hot and cooled to cherry red. He could feel the blast of heat from where he sat, and he raised incredulous eyes to Clark. "Not from Earth? I really need a drink." He’d expected another meteor mutant not an alien. "Oh wait, I _have_ a drink." He tossed back the remainder of his brandy.

"Yeah, I came down with the meteors." Waiting with downcast eyes, Clark absently kneaded the softened metal, twisting it into abstract shapes, wondering if he’d just done the stupidest thing in his life.

"You came down with..." Lex got himself another drink, scotch this time. He had a feeling he was going to need it. "You’re an alien. From another world. Jesus fucking Christ, we really aren’t alone."

Clark gave a pained laugh and turned away to look out the windows, still clutching the mangled steel bar. "Yeah, merry damn Christmas."

"God, the most fantastic discovery in the history of mankind and I can’t tell anyone." Lex shook his head. "It must drive you nuts when you hear people arguing over whether there’s life ‘out there’." He eyed Clark curiously. "What’s wrong? Okay, I’m a little freaked, but you know, this makes a lot more sense than any theory I’d come up with. Funny how reality works."

"Yeah, great discovery," Clark echoed quietly, not looking back as Lex as he didn’t want to see his friend studying him like some growth in a Petri dish. _This_ had been the good reason he’d put off telling Lex about this for so long; why the hell hadn’t he remembered it?

"Okay, I recognize that tone. What’s wrong?" Lex moved up behind Clark, a hand coming to rest on his arm. "What are you imagining now?"

"You - wanting to dissect me," Clark answered honestly.

"Dissect you! Clark, no! If anything I’m worried about anyone finding out and trying to do that. Of course I’m fascinated by what you _are_ , but I always was. I just know now that there’s even more to you than I already thought. I want to know about the world you came from, what it’s like, how you got here, why you’re here, but I would _never_ do anything to hurt you. You should know that."

"I know," Clark said, finally looking back over his shoulder. "That’s why I told you."

There was only one thing to say to that. "Thank you." Lex smiled wryly. "I can guarantee you that this is one gift your father is really going to want to see returned."

Clark winced. "I’m not sure you want to let him know you know." _That_ was one hell of an understatement. Jonathan Kent hadn’t gone after Lex with a shotgun in years, but he might make an exception in this case.

"That would probably be best for my life expectancy," Lex agreed blandly. "God, no wonder he didn’t want you to have anything to do with me or my father. You have the self-preservation instincts of a gnat."

"Go to hell, I can take care of myself." Clark’s tone may have been heated, but inside he just felt drained.

About to reply angrily, Lex saw the twisted metal bar out the corner of his eye and deflated. "I suppose you can at that. There really isn’t anything I can give you, is there? Not even my protection."

"You can give me your friendship," Clark whispered, looking out the window once again.

"You’ve always had that." Lex watched Clark’s reflection in the window. "Did you really think that knowing this would change it?"

"I hoped." Clark raised his eyes again, watching Lex watch him in the window. "I wouldn’t have told you otherwise."

"I’m glad. But don’t think we’re not going to discuss years of lies eventually," Lex warned pointedly, meeting Clark’s reflected gaze. "You may be my best friend, but I’m still pissed about that."

Clark sighed and nodded but remained silent, not having anything to say to defend himself in that matter.

Lex eyed him. "No argument? Which means that I’m going to have something to hold over you for years," he gloated, grinning. "Oh, this is going to get me my own way for the next decade, at least."

Clark finally turned away from the window and gave a faint smile. "If you do, I’m just going to hold you off the balcony until you stop," he commented. "And it takes a _long_ time for me to get tired."

"Ah, so now we find out the truth, you’re just a big bully," Lex chuckled. "And I thought you were afraid of heights?"

"That kind of went away when I found out I could fly."

"You can fly?" Lex blinked. "Well. So you’re not just strong and invulnerable, I take it?" He eyed Clark. "You’ll have to tell me all about it. But right now I think we could use something to eat."

"Go ahead, I might be sick if I ate anything right now."

"Then we’ll wait." Lex shrugged. "I really don’t think throwing up on me would improve the evening for either of us." He reached out, placing a hand on Clark’s arm. "It’s okay, Clark. We’re okay, really."

Clark managed another smile. "You always did take even the strangest things in stride," he sighed, looking down at the metal bar in his hand and setting it on the floor.

"I lived in Smallville," Lex pointed out. "After people have walked through walls to try to kill you and shape-shifted into a clone of you, an alien or two is nothing to get excited about. Besides, you’re still you."

"Thank you," Clark said quietly.

"Thank you for finally trusting me." Lex shrugged slightly.

"It wasn’t that I didn’t before. It’s just I’ve spent all my life being told never to tell anyone. It’s hard to break that habit, you know?"

"You make it very hard to stay mad at you," Lex observed. "It’s a good thing I don’t really want to."

"So, does this mean I still get my present?" Clark asked, giving a real grin.

"Of course. Tomorrow." Lex smirked. "You were the one saying we had to wait, after all."

"Ass," Clark muttered before laughing. "It’s good to see that some things never change."

"That’s our friendship, the stuff of legends," Lex replied, grinning. "And now I know I can hide behind you when your dad gets the shotgun."

"About my dad... I wouldn’t go bragging to him that you know about this quite yet, or he _might_ get the shotgun," Clark reminded him.

"No, as I said earlier, I’m really not planning on it. Sometime after never sounds about right to me." Lex shuddered as he imagined Jonathan Kent’s reaction to this little development. No, he wasn’t about to give the older man any more reason to distrust him.

"That’s probably for the best, and you know what? I am getting hungry. What should we order?"

"Clark Kent hungry, now there’s a shock." Lex smiled. "Whatever you want is fine with me."

"Is that wit? You need to pay whoever writes your jokes more, Lex," Clark snorted. "How about ribs?"

"Sounds good. I’m easy," Lex replied.

"That’s what I’ve heard," Clark laughed.

**END**


End file.
